Can I use Clipon Risers on my bike?

There are a number of factors that determine if your motorcycle can utilize clipon risers. By
taking the steps below you will better be able to determine if risers will fit on your motorcycle
without substantial modifications. Other factors to be considered are brake line length and cable
routing, which should be carefully considered during the installation process. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to call Woodcraft. Proper installation is critical to rider safety
and should be performed by a certified technician.
Measure Clearance
The first step in evaluating your motorcycle for risers
is to rotate your bars from lock to lock and measure the
clearance both above and forward of the controls (see
Figure 1). These measurements need to be taken from
whatever part of the controls is the closest to making
contact with the bodywork, gauges or fairing bracket.
This will give you an idea of how much rise your bike
will let you have.
Special Top Mount Considerations
The motorcycle in Figure 1 mounts the bars on top
of the clamp. If you want to mount them on top of the
clamp you would need a 32mm minimum of fork tube
sticking up above the top surface of the triple clamp
(ideally there would be 37mm).

Figure 1

Determine Forward Offset

An important factor when determining if risers will
work is the forward offset of the bar. Figure 2
shows a top view of the Woodcraft riser and a
second bar that represents the stock location of the
bar on some models. Note that the rearward bar
runs right into the fork tube, and the Woodcraft bar
(in the black clamp) sits in front of the fork tube.
This forward offset can affect clearance on some
models, so you must consider this when evaluating
your motorcycle. Measure the difference between
your stock bars and the Woodcraft bars to determine
how much offset you need to account for.

Figure 2

Triple Clamp Pinch Bolt Orientation

The orientation of the triple clamp pinch bolts is critical to
the ability to use these risers. Figure 2 shows a pinch bolt
orientation that provides maximum clearance for the riser.
Figure 3 shows the worst position for the pinch bolt. There
are only a few models that have this issue, but when it is
present the risers cannot be used due to interference. The
riser itself leaves 10mm of clearance for the triple clamp,
which works on about 90% of the bikes we have
encountered (shown in Figure 4).

Brake Lines & Cables

This is one area that must be carefully attended to on each
model during installation and it is very important to check
cable clearance by moving the bars lock to lock several times
and accounting for how the cable can move up and down.
Often, it is needed to restrict the amount of motion of the
cables can go through in order to avoid having them catch on
things like the ignition assembly.

Figure 3

To determine brake line modifications you need to put the

bike on a front stand and fully extend the forks to top out and
be sure that there is not any tension on the lines. Most bikes
start to run into issues after 1.5 - 2 inches of rise, but every
model is different and must be considered individually.

Determine Rise
The final step is to determine how much rise your stock
handlebars have. The rise on the Woodcraft clamps is
measured from the bottom edge of the triple clamp to the
top of the bar clamp (see Figure 5). Some stock bars
already have a rise with the stock clipons, so if you want a
rise OVER the stock amount you need to get an estimate of
your stock rise first and add up the stock rise and your
desired additional rise. We have information on several
models already....just give us a call.

105 Baldwinville Rd
Winchendon, MA 01475
978-297-2977
www.woodcraft-cfm.com

Figure 4

Figure 5